Hollywood Portrait: The Hair Salon Owner

Name: Tita Marroquin

Age: 34

Location: Melrose Hair Salon, 648 Martel Avenue, Hollywood 

Original Hometown: Quetzaltenango, Guatemala 

Is this your own place? Yes. I’ve owned it five years now. I used to work at Vous for many years, up on Melrose from here.

How’s business been? It’s been good. We have lots of regular customers now. We’re busy all week long. It's a tough time with the economy, but people still want to look good.

Do you prefer owning your own place rather than working for someone else? Yes. But it’s hard work. You have to be dedicated, cause it takes a lot of effort. It isn’t easy. I’m usually here seven days a week. Sometimes 10 to 10!

Do you like Hollywood? I do. I love it. There’s so many interesting people. I learn a lot. It’s multicultural. People from everywhere. Musicians, writers, actors, models. Melrose is a trendy area, which is good—lots of style. And lots of very nice people here. I am lucky.  

How do you keep people coming back? First, you need to listen to what they want! I can’t tell you how many times people come in and tell me they went somewhere, and told them what they wanted, and they didn’t listen. And didn’t do what they wanted. I don’t get that! You want people to come back. So we always listen here, and do what people want. Also, I have a lot of talented people here. And that makes all the difference.